PrimeCarers
Tatton Park, Knutsford

Companionship careCheshire

Days out in Cheshire for an older parent

Nine places in Cheshire that make a good day out for an older parent, from Tatton Park to Nantwich Museum. For each one: what its own access information confirms, what it costs, how long to allow, and the carers nearby who drive and could take them.

Researched by PrimeCarers from each place’s own website and access information  ·  Updated October 2026

Tatton Park. Photo: Poliphilo, CC0

Nine days out across nine towns

The best places to take an older parent in Cheshire

Four of them are free to visit or to walk around. The access information for two describes a step-free route, and seven confirm an accessible toilet. Where a place does not publish its access, we say so.

Tatton Park, Knutsford

Photo: Poliphilo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Historic house · Knutsford

Tatton Park

Tatton Park is a large country estate on the edge of Knutsford with a neoclassical mansion, 50 acres of formal gardens including a Japanese garden, a working farm and a deer park. The Stableyard has shops and the Stables Restaurant.

There are Blue Badge spaces in the Stableyard close to the mansion and gardens, accessible toilets, wheelchairs and garden buggies to borrow, and a volunteer mobility buggy from the main car park on some days.

Time to allow
A full day
Cost
Paid entry

What their access information confirms

  • Partly step-free
  • Accessible toilet
  • Wheelchairs to borrow
  • Blue Badge parking
  • Café

Their websiteAccess information

Carers who drive, based near Knutsford

Chester Cathedral, Chester

Photo: Stephen Hamilton, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Cathedral · Chester

Chester Cathedral

Chester Cathedral is a former Benedictine abbey church in the middle of the walled city, with medieval carved choir stalls, a cloister and a cloister garden. Café 1092 is in the old monks' refectory, and tours run up the tower and around the building.

The cathedral describes itself as fully accessible, with ramps laid out on request, and there is step-free access from the nearest Blue Badge parking on Frodsham Street.

Time to allow
An hour or two
Cost
Free for most of the year, small charge in summer and at Christmas

What their access information confirms

  • Step-free route
  • Café

Their websiteAccess information

Carers who drive, based near Chester

Chester Zoo, Upton-by-Chester

Photo: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)., CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Animals · Upton-by-Chester

Chester Zoo

Chester Zoo is one of the largest zoos in the UK, with elephants, big cats, a tropical house and the Islands area set among landscaped gardens. There are several places to eat and a quiet room near the Madagascar garden for a rest.

It is a large site, so plan a route around a few favourite animals, and a carer goes free with a disabled visitor paying full price.

Time to allow
A full day
Cost
Carers free with a paying disabled visitor

Access

Their website does not set out its access in detail, so ring ahead about parking, paths and toilets.

Their websiteAccess information

Carers who drive, based near Upton-by-Chester

Jodrell Bank, Lower Withington

Photo: Mike Peel; Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, University of Manchester, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Museum · Lower Withington

Jodrell Bank

Jodrell Bank is home to the giant Lovell Telescope, a World Heritage Site, with a visitor centre about space and astronomy in its shadow. There is a working orrery in the Planet Pavilion, a science exhibition, a Space Dome film, gardens and two cafés.

Wheelchairs can be borrowed, the pavilions have automatic doors and seating, and the second café has accessible toilets beside it.

Time to allow
Half a day
Cost
Paid entry

What their access information confirms

  • Accessible toilet
  • Wheelchairs to borrow
  • Café

Their websiteAccess information

Carers who drive, based near Lower Withington

Lion Salt Works

Museum · Northwich

Lion Salt Works

The Lion Salt Works in Marston is the last open-pan salt works in Britain, now a museum telling the story of Cheshire salt making. Visitors can see the pan houses and stove houses and learn how salt shaped Northwich.

The whole site is accessible for wheelchairs, with lifts, accessible toilets, disabled parking bays, a free car park and a café in the visitor centre, and carers go free.

Time to allow
An hour or two
Cost
Paid entry, carers go free

What their access information confirms

  • Accessible toilet
  • Blue Badge parking
  • Café

Their websiteAccess information

Carers who drive, based near Northwich

Anderton Boat Lift, Anderton

Photo: Clint Heacock (Clintheacock66 at en.wikipedia), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Boat trip · Anderton

Anderton Boat Lift

The Anderton Boat Lift is a Victorian lift that raises canal boats 50 feet between the River Weaver and the Trent and Mersey Canal. The visitor centre explains how it works, and trip boats run through the lift in the main season.

There are disabled toilets inside the visitor centre, and even without the boat trip the lift can be watched from the grounds beside the car park.

Time to allow
An hour or two
Cost
Free outside, paid inside

What their access information confirms

  • Accessible toilet

Their website

Carers who drive, based near Anderton

Delamere Forest, Delamere

Photo: Peter Turner, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Nature reserve · Delamere

Delamere Forest

Delamere Forest is the largest woodland in Cheshire, with trails through pine and broadleaf woods and around Blakemere Moss lake. The visitor centre by the main car park has a café and toilets.

There are 16 accessible parking bays, an accessible toilet and a Changing Places toilet in the visitor centre, plenty of benches, and all-terrain mobility scooters can be booked in advance.

Time to allow
Half a day
Cost
Free entry, parking charged

What their access information confirms

  • Partly step-free
  • Accessible toilet
  • Blue Badge parking
  • Café

Their websiteAccess information

Carers who drive, based near Delamere

Ness Botanic Gardens, Neston

Photo: David Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Garden · Neston

Ness Botanic Gardens

Ness Botanic Gardens are the University of Liverpool's gardens on the Wirral, with rock and water gardens, herbaceous borders, a rhododendron collection and views over the Dee estuary to Wales. The visitor centre has a café, shop and plant sales.

The visitor centre is step-free, manual wheelchairs can be borrowed free from the desk, there are accessible toilets, and one carer goes free with each paying disabled visitor.

Time to allow
Half a day
Cost
Carer free with a paying disabled visitor

What their access information confirms

  • Partly step-free
  • Accessible toilet
  • Wheelchairs to borrow
  • Café

Their websiteAccess information

Nantwich Museum, Nantwich

Photo: Michael Garlick, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Museum · Nantwich

Nantwich Museum

Nantwich Museum is a small, free museum in the centre of the old market town, covering its Roman roots, salt making, the Civil War siege and later history. Nantwich itself has black and white timbered buildings and plenty of cafés close by.

All the exhibits are on the ground floor, there is a step-free side entrance and an accessible toilet, and Blue Badge holders can park free on Love Lane a short walk away.

Time to allow
An hour or two
Cost
Free admission

What their access information confirms

  • Step-free route
  • Accessible toilet

Their websiteAccess information

Carers who drive, based near Nantwich

Regular groups and events in Cheshire

Something to go back to every week or every year, from our research into what older people enjoy doing in Cheshire.

  • Cooking & Baking · NantwichNantwich Show and International Cheese AwardsAn annual July agricultural show in parkland on the edge of Nantwich, holding the world's largest cheese competition with thousands of entries. A carer could go on the quieter first day, plan a route between the cheese marquee and seating, and buy something to cook with afterwards.Details
  • Music · ChesterThursday organ recitals at Chester CathedralA weekly lunchtime recital on the cathedral's grand organ, with a different organist and programme each week, free to attend with a retiring collection. A carer could arrive early for a seat near the aisle and keep the outing to the recital and a cup of tea afterwards.Details
  • Dancing · HelsbyAfternoon tea dance at HelsbyA social tea dance in the tradition of the nineteenth and twentieth century afternoon dances, listed on the county's Live Well directory. A carer could provide the lift, stay for the tea and company, and join in for the slower dances or sit out as preferred.Details
  • Fishing · WinsfordNeuroMuscular Centre fishing club, WinsfordA fishing club set up by the Winsford based NeuroMuscular Centre for people who used to fish but found it hard to continue because of a muscle weakening condition. A carer could help with enquiries about joining and go along to handle the lifting and carrying on the day.Details
  • ReadingHome Library Service in Cheshire West and ChesterA free council service where volunteers deliver books and talking books to people who cannot easily get to a library. A carer could set up the registration, help choose titles for the next delivery and read aloud when eyesight makes print hard.Details
  • Sports · NorthwichMid Cheshire Crown Green Bowling AssociationA bowling association established in 1904 with 28 member clubs and over a thousand registered players, based at Weaverham near Northwich. A carer could take someone to watch a league match at a nearby green, or help them get back to a club they once played for.Details

Hobbies and carers who share them in Cheshire

At a glance

The nine places side by side

What each place’s own access information confirms. “Ask” means it does not say, not that it is missing.

PlaceTimeCostStep-freeToiletCafé
Tatton ParkKnutsforda full dayPaid entryPartlyYesYes
Chester CathedralChesteran hour or twoFreeYesAskYes
Chester ZooUpton-by-Chestera full dayPaid entryAskAskAsk
Jodrell BankLower Withingtonhalf a dayPaid entryAskYesYes
Lion Salt WorksNorthwichan hour or twoPaid entryAskYesYes
Anderton Boat LiftAndertonan hour or twoFree outside, paid insideAskYesAsk
Delamere ForestDelamerehalf a dayFreePartlyYesYes
Ness Botanic GardensNestonhalf a dayPaid entryPartlyYesYes
Nantwich MuseumNantwichan hour or twoFreeYesYesAsk

Where the places are in Cheshire

The county’s boundary, numbered as on this page, with the main towns for reference.

AlsagerMalpasPoynton with WorthWidnesMacclesfield123456789
  1. 1Tatton Park, Knutsford
  2. 2Chester Cathedral, Chester
  3. 3Chester Zoo, Upton-by-Chester
  4. 4Jodrell Bank, Lower Withington
  5. 5Lion Salt Works, Northwich
  6. 6Anderton Boat Lift, Anderton
  7. 7Delamere Forest, Delamere
  8. 8Ness Botanic Gardens, Neston
  9. 9Nantwich Museum, Nantwich

What it costs

What a day out with a carer costs in Cheshire

Carers in Cheshire charge £19 to £22 an hour through PrimeCarers, typically £20, with our fee included. A four-hour outing is about £80 for the carer’s time. Entry, food and parking are extra, and travel costs are only payable if you agree them with the carer in advance, in writing. The cost of home care in Cheshire has the full figures.

Photographs on this page are from Wikimedia Commons, credited under each one.

Questions

Questions families ask about days out in Cheshire

Tatton Park in Knutsford, Chester Cathedral in Chester, Chester Zoo in Upton-by-Chester, Jodrell Bank in Lower Withington, Lion Salt Works in Northwich, Anderton Boat Lift in Anderton, Delamere Forest in Delamere, Ness Botanic Gardens in Neston and Nantwich Museum in Nantwich. Each has its own section on this page with what its access information confirms, the cost and how long to allow.

The access information for Chester Cathedral and Nantwich Museum describes a step-free route. Tatton Park, Jodrell Bank, Lion Salt Works, Anderton Boat Lift, Delamere Forest, Ness Botanic Gardens and Nantwich Museum have an accessible toilet. Tatton Park, Jodrell Bank and Ness Botanic Gardens lend wheelchairs. Access changes, so ring ahead about anything your parent depends on.

Chester Cathedral, Anderton Boat Lift (outside free, inside paid), Delamere Forest and Nantwich Museum. Parking is often charged even where entry is free.

Yes. A companion carer can drive your parent there, walk at their pace, help with the toilet and meals, and bring them home. 9 of the carers with a rate near Cheshire drive. Visits are booked by the hour, typically £20 an hour here with our fee included. Companionship care in Cheshire shows who is available.

Often. Many attractions let a carer or companion in free, or at a reduced price, with a disabled visitor, and some ask for proof such as a letter or a benefit award. It varies, so check each place’s access or prices page before you go.

Where the nearest carers live

From the profiles of the carers based within about 45 minutes of Cheshire

Where the nearest carers live. A carer close to home can manage a longer day out.

Companionship care in the counties around Cheshire

Days out in the areas around Cheshire

Companionship care by town in Cheshire

Each town page shows the carers who list it as home, with their rates and reviews.

Find a carer who could take them out in Cheshire

See carers near Cheshire who drive, with their photos, interests, rates and reviews. Talking to them is free and nothing is booked until you say so.

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